General Motors will invest $500 million to produce a new vehicle and eight-cylinder engines in a plant in northeastern Mexico, a company spokesman said on August 4.

The decision was announced at a meeting on August 3 between GM management and Mexican officials, the spokesman said, without giving details of the new vehicle.
The investment in the GM plant in Ramos Arispe, Coahuila state, would generate 390 jobs, he added.

Recalling his stated intention in January to double U.S. exports within five years, Obama told Ford workers that the $250 million loan guarantee "means more production and more manufacturing jobs right here in the United States." The President was touring Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant in Illinois.

"The auto industry has gone through a difficult time. And it's not back to where it needs to be... It's going to take more time to heal from all the damage that was done. But we’re beginning to see our efforts pay off," Obama said on August 5.
"We are headed in the right direction. We are

Unfortunately GM is destined to fail...again! 3 years ago when they started to layout plans for the Volt/Cruise project, many experts in the industry said they were going about it the wrong way. Now they roll out a $40K vehicle that is unaffordable, lacks the power the American consumer wants and still uses a cast-iron petroleum fueled electric generator to charge the electric batteries. In essence its just a really efficient 4-cylinder car.

Now they want to dump money into Mexican based facilities where the quality is low, workers are mistreated and shipping cost is outrageous.

The only plus is that the engineering and new machinery will most likely be done/supplied by workers in the states.

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"Opportunity knocks once" Not true... In some cases it never comes knocking, you have to go out and grab it by the hippie pony tail, and drag it over to your place for wine and chocolate."

Unfortunately GM is destined to fail...again! 3 years ago when they started to layout plans for the Volt/Cruise project, many experts in the industry said they were going about it the wrong way. Now they roll out a $40K vehicle that is unaffordable, lacks the power the American consumer wants and still uses a cast-iron petroleum fueled electric generator to charge the electric batteries. In essence its just a really efficient 4-cylinder car.

Now they want to dump money into Mexican based facilities where the quality is low, workers are mistreated and shipping cost is outrageous.

The only plus is that the engineering and new machinery will most likely be done/supplied by workers in the states.

I'm sorry, its not unaffordable. If $40k is unaffordable, you wouldn't see any of these cars on the road.$35,000-$45,000 cars.

And, I don't know about you, but I see quite a few cars on the road these days that are in that range.

Nobody is going to want to spend 41k on an Electric car that they can drive 20 miles (yeah i know they say 40 miles) before it needs a charge.

There better be a lot of "green" rebates to make this car sell.

The Prius and the Leaf will most likely make the volt look like the joke of the car it really is.

Sure the Volt is well engineered, but not sure the vehicle is very marketable, it has a lot of hype to live up to and i'm not sure the final product has the stuff to back it up.

But with they $350/month lease they have announced it will move off the showrooms, but GM will loose money on everyone they lease.

Then if you look at the rest of their product lineup, their future is still rather grim.

Of the 3 I think the Volt is the most marketable. The Prius is only a hybrid, it can not be plugged in to charge, and the Leaf is only an electric, once it runs out of charge it needs to be plugged in and recharged. Only the Volt can be plugged in to charge, and be run of an onboard generator if hte batteries run down before you get where you're going.

There are many Prius conversions out there to make it plug-in, as an FYI. Not factory, but many offer warranties comparable.

Yep, and add the $10K to the $24K base price, and it's right at $34K (same price as Volt minus $7K rebate). I'm not sure if installation is included in the $10K price. Closest installation place that I saw was Madison, WI.

Article claims 30-40 miles driving on electric charge from manufacturer, but they got about 25.

Those jobs left for Mexico in 1981. Good thing you stay on top of these things.

No, but you can't plug the prius in. And unlike the leaf that will also only go 20 based on your expert analysis, the gas engine will start and you can continue to drive.

"...the gas engine will start and you can continue.."

That kinds seems like it defeats the purpose of an electric vehicle to me, seems more like a hybrid (oh wait it is a hybrid)

Why would someone buy a vehicle like the Volt when the prius is cheaper and if you think about, toyota has had more time to work out the bugs in it. The volt is being marketed as an electric vehicle, which it's not, it just a suped up hybrid. The leaf is a better option that both those others because it is a full electric vehicle; and someone isn't going to be buying it if they drive across cities every day, someone who buys the leaf will have a short daily commute (say 20-30 miles), and they will have another vehicle for expended trips

That kinds seems like it defeats the purpose of an electric vehicle to me, seems more like a hybrid (oh wait it is a hybrid)

Why would someone buy a vehicle like the Volt when the prius is cheaper and if you think about, toyota has had more time to work out the bugs in it. The volt is being marketed as an electric vehicle, which it's not, it just a suped up hybrid. The leaf is a better option that both those others because it is a full electric vehicle; and someone isn't going to be buying it if they drive across cities every day, someone who buys the leaf will have a short daily commute (say 20-30 miles), and they will have another vehicle for expended trips

At 20-30 miles you can drive the volt purely on the charge, and if you have to go on a longer trip you use the gas engine to power it and then you don't need another vehicle.

Why would someone buy a vehicle like the Volt when the prius is cheaper and if you think about, toyota has had more time to work out the bugs in it. The volt is being marketed as an electric vehicle, which it's not, it just a suped up hybrid. The leaf is a better option that both those others because it is a full electric vehicle; and someone isn't going to be buying it if they drive across cities every day, someone who buys the leaf will have a short daily commute (say 20-30 miles), and they will have another vehicle for expended trips

So what you're saying is that Sony should have never built a TV because Zenith and RCA had started first? Why did Toyota ever build cars, since Mercedes Benz was the first to build them. Ford was just a copy cat, too. I like competition, it's the whole free market thing; even if there's not a truly free market.

Either way, the Volt isn't exactly like either the Prius or the Leaf. It draws comparisons to both, but isn't exactly the same as either. Even a Prius with a aftermarket plug-in battery isn't exactly the same as a Volt.

Is the Leaf a better alternative to the Volt? Yes, if you want only a BEV and have alternate transportation for longer trips. If you want one car, then maybe not.

Is a Prius better than a Volt? Yes, if you don't care about driving in EV mode for short trips and want to save some money vs buying the Volt.

Is there something better than all 3? Maybe, but again, it depends on what your goal is. As many have pointed out, you can buy an older fuel efficient clunker for less money up front, and probably will never pay as much out of pocket even if your MPG is less than the others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XXXJ

The article is from 04 August 2010, not 1981.
They are investing 500 million now, not 30 years ago.

Denial is not a river in Egypt.....

Yes, $500M in a plant that has been around 30 years and needs updates. It's a plant that builds cars that sell in the US, Mexico, South and Central America, and Europe.

They are also putting in another $1B in plants in the US, and another $250M into a plant in Canada that has also just been announced in 2010. Probably investing in China, Australia, Europe, and other locations around the world.